Men's Mechanical Wristwatch, Seagull 1963 Aviation Chronograph Pilot Mechanical Watch, Manual Winding, GD 1963 International Edition, ST1901

This is probably the best value for a mechanical chronograph you're going to find, and as a bonus it's a great version of the famous 1963 watch, which MAY actually be an official product of Sea-Gull. (More on that in a second.) The movement is beautiful, and is definitely an authentic ST1901 movement, though it's not the high-end version of it that you'll find in the more expensive versions of the 1963 on the Sea-Gull official site. For one, there is no engraving on the top bridge, and the regulation isn't the upgraded "goose neck" version that you'll see on nice version. The latter difference may be why THIS version of the watch doesn't keep time terribly well: about 14 seconds a day by my timing runs. That's decent, but not great, even by Chinese watch standards (I have watches that cost less than $100 from China that consistently do better than 5 seconds a day.) The other difference from nicer version is that the window is acrylic, not sapphire. So, is this an authentic version? I think it is, but oddly enough Sea-Gull won't own up to it on their main website, omitting this downgraded "International Version" on their website's list of official releases. I don't know why this is, but everything else about the watch appear legit, down to the proper manufacturer logo, the movement, and the very nice real leather band with Sea-Gull imprints. (For those of you that know Chinese watches, it's the fact that both sides are real leather that is the giveaway, not the logo!) This listing is also shown under Sea-Gull's official Amazon page, so I suspect it's really from them, but on their main website they are focusing on selling the more expensive versions, so they exclude this. Some people have complained about the size. It's true that coming from your typical pilot's watch this feels small. But it's really relative. After wearing this a while it doesn't look small, it actually looks fairly elegant. In no way will it be mistaken for a woman's watch, as one person worried. It's about 38 mm, which is well within standard size for a men's watch, and more importantly, from my research this is actually the size of the original PLAF version of the watch. I kinda like the fact that it's the "right size" even though bigger might be arguably better from a readability standpoint. So, should you get this? Heck, yeah! It's beautiful, well-made and an insanely good value for a watch, probably the best I've ever found in my short career of being obsessed with mechanical watches. And if you really want to collect a 1963, get this for daily wear AND buy the $800 version that Sea-Gull sells that includes a sapphire crystal and better regulation for your collection. This is too good a watch for the price to pass up, regardless of the question of whether or not it qualifies as an "official" 1963. It's officially a damn good watch, not matter what.

Based on other reviews, I bought a couple of straps. The photo shows it on a leather strap I bought separately. Now the review. I love this watch. It’s light. It fits my wrist better than I thought, given that I have a larger wrist and have stepped away from a 46mm Apple Watch. The click when I start and stop the chronograph feels satisfying. I promised myself I would get only mechanical watches going forward. But I needed an inexpensive one for travel so I would not wear an expensive one in unknown areas. I am super happy to have found this watch. I can dress it up or down and wear it wherever I want. I like the quirky dial and hands. This checks so many boxes for me. The only thing is, I don’t plan to test its water resistance. Otherwise, this is an unbeatable value for the money.

Great watch I love it fits into my watch rotation👍

I've had this watch for a while now and I like it a lot, but I've held off on reviewing it because there's just a lot of weirdness surrounding this watch and the company that makes it. I'll try to explain as well as I can. Ultimately, though, I am glad I bought the watch and it is really amazing to see a mechanical chronograph for this price. So, the "1963" watch has become pretty well known in the west over the years. I'm sure the real history of it is completely different than what's told in the marketing and commonly believed by western watch enthusiasts. This isn't unique to Sea-gull or China; a lot of western watchmakers make tributes or "reissues" of military watches from their countries' past as well, and they often fudge a lot of the details of the story to make it seem like they're more connected to the original watch than they really are, and/or that the original watch was more historically important than it was. It's a pretty common marketing tactic with these military-style watches. The point I'm making is that this is a Chinese "military style" watch; it's not necessarily the same watch actually worn by anyone in the Chinese military, and you see a *lot* of this same style of watch all over the internet, some with slight differences, some looking entirely identical. They do generally all contain the same Seagull ST19 movement, which is a manual-wind mechanical movement that's very old but is still reliable and nice to look at when it's running. This version of the watch comes with an exhibition case back so you can see the movement, which I always like. But you can bet that the Chinese military is not wearing watches with exhibition case backs; that's just for us. Now, if you go search for this watch on YouTube or around the net, you're going to see a lot of people talking about "real" vs. "fake" 1963's, and about whether "Seagull" or "Sea-gull" is the real company or a knockoff. It can be tough to sift through it all because many of these people outright contradict each other, or show one watch as real and another fake while someone else shows the exact opposite watch as real and the other fake. I will say that while the brand shown on the product page here was originally listed as "Seagull", which some say denotes the knockoff company, when I had a problem with the first watch I received, customer service asked me to contact them through the "Sea-gull" web page for a resolution, and the email I received came from a "Sea-gull" address. So I don't think the presence or absence of that hyphen reliably tells anybody anything. I see that the brand is now actually listed as Sea-gull, and the Sea-gull store on Amazon uses their official logos, etc. On Sea-gull's web site, for what it's worth, you can buy this same watch for much more than what it costs here. That would at least suggest that this could be a knockoff. However, you can also go to Sugess' web site, which is one of Sea-gull's known brands, and also buy this exact same watch for the *same* price as is being charged here. So that suggests to me that there's something else going on. Complicating things a little further is that there have been some updates and variations to this watch over the years, as is common for modern military reissues and tributes. Just look at how many models Hamilton has in its Khaki Field line right now - that all started out as literally one watch. Here's my educated guess of how this all actually works. I don't think there is such a thing as a "real" or "fake" Sea-gull 1963. I think they all come from the same factory, and we know they all use the same movement. I think they are just sold at different prices on different web sites based on whatever the company (and I think Seagull and Sea-gull are the same company) thinks they can get. And of course the newer versions probably cost more, generally, as do the larger versions. There are now two versions on this product page, which are slightly different. One is not real and the other fake; they are just different variations. Mine is the "yellow" color, which it isn't really... the main difference here seems to be the included strap. I probably would have gone for the leather version if it was on this page originally; it only came with a nylon NATO strap when I got mine. Part of the price difference on different web sites seems to be the packaging and what's included. Some versions include both the nylon and leather strap; mine only came with nylon. Some come in a nice Sea-gull box; mine came in a plain plastic watch box but otherwise had all the wrapping and literature (so it wasn't used or anything; they just didn't waste a nice box at this lower price). This page also only has the 38mm versions; there are now 40mm variations as well. I feel that the watch wears big for its size (long lug to lug for its size) but *looks* small, so consider that when buying. For me with a 7.6" wrist, a 40mm would probably look better. The 38mm looks a little toy-like on my wrist. There are also variations with an acrylic crystal vs. a "glass" crystal (I'm guessing mineral glass, but their own site does say sapphire so maybe that's yet another variant), and the outer bezel on them is different as well. When I ordered mine, it was the acrylic crystal; it looks like they've updated the page now and these now come with glass. The acrylic is still being produced, though; if you want it you can probably find it elsewhere (or maybe another page on Amazon). They do look different, with different doming on the crystal and one having a larger bezel than the other. Generally I actually like the look of the acrylic one better, and it's probably more accurate to what the Chinese military actually used. Now that I've got all that out of the way, let me review the watch itself a little bit. I mentioned that I had to contact Sea-gull about my "first" watch. That watch just didn't run, and the chronograph would not engage. It felt like the movement itself was flopping around inside the watch case a bit, and something seemed misaligned. It wasn't the easiest process returning it and getting a new watch - I'm used to just clicking the return button and Amazon just sending out another one. Sea-gull wanted me to actually send them a video of what was happening to prove that it was defective. That's basically why I'm taking a star off; the overall quality of the watch outside of the dial isn't really the best (I didn't expect it to be for the price, honestly) and then when I did get a defective one, the customer service experience was more difficult than it should have been. The second one they sent me does work, and I wear it sometimes, although unfortunately given the current geopolitical situation you have to be a little careful these days where you wear it. It is an unabashedly Chinese watch, and I love that about it, but not everyone does. I quickly changed the strap on mine to a basic brown leather strap because, as everyone says, basically anything is better than the terrible nylon strap they ship with it. Again, at least they are offering a leather upgrade on this same page now. It does look small, as mentioned. If you have large wrists like mine, consider looking up the newer 40mm version. It is true that militaries around the world historically just wore smaller watches, so if you're trying to be faithful to that, get the 38. But 40mm is more of a modern size that works on most (mens') wrists. For most women, the 38mm would probably be just about perfect. The best thing about the watch is the dial, which is much more beautiful than you'd expect given this price point. It has a really nice, soft color that doesn't come through well in photos - it's kind of a metallic beige with a subtle sheen, and it has a very slight texture to it as well. The digits and markers are slightly raised so it has a 3D effect too, and they're shiny gold, which goes really well with the metallic beige of the dial itself but also gives it a distinctly Chinese feel. Of course, the Chinese text and gold-outlined red star below the "12" kind of give that away too. A normal leather strap is going to better enable you to appreciate the exhibition case back as well. The movement does have some finishing details on it, also unexpected given the price, but I will say it does have a generally cheaper overall look to it compared to some of the higher-end mechanical movements I own. But for the price, it's very attractive and fun to look at. I do think that, if you get a good one, these watches are very good value and visually appealing. I am happy to have mine; I just wish that the 40mm version was available (with the leather strap) when I had ordered.

If you want a Sea-Gull 1963 and are concerned about low-quality copies, the safest choice is to buy the official version from Sea-Gull, China’s largest and most reputable watch manufacturer: SEA-GULL Men’s Mechanical Wristwatch – 1963 Aviation Chronograph. The export model sold here uses Sea-Gull’s 3-star (* ) grade movement**. For context: = basic movement sold for repairs ** = movements supplied to microbrands *** = Sea-Gull’s own highest QC grade All three are mechanically identical — the difference is how they perform during quality control, where they’re sorted by accuracy and finishing. Also worth noting: the movement is not a clone. Sea-Gull legally purchased the Venus 175 design, rights, and tooling from Venus in Switzerland in the early 1960s, when Venus needed capital. China acquired the entire production line “lock, stock, and barrel.” The original Venus 175 was used by several top Swiss brands, including Breitling, which speaks to the pedigree behind this mechanism.

Looks great, but terrible time keeping, maybe 5 minutes off +\- a day. The “genuine leather” is trash and leaves stains on the skin. The watch is light and doesn’t feel durable at all. Really wanted to like this watch since the colors are great and the exhibition back is gorgeous for the price, but it just does not live up to the hype. Didn’t wear it enough to say how scratch resistant it is, but I’m sure it’s delicate since it feels like a fisher price toy watch. Winding it also sounds awful. I’d say this watch is worth a fraction of its price.

Beautiful and classic watch! I wanted to find the most authentic Sea-Gull 1963 Aviation Chronograph watch and must have visited so many websites. I found them from $75 to $399. I also found the Anniversary Edition direct from Sea-Gull for $810, but I did not want to spend that much on this watch. I then found the International version. The accurate time and the weight of the watch feels just right. I'm happy that it comes with minerial glass to ensure that it will be more durable than acrylic. It seems that the minerial glass will keep it from scratching easily. While I liked the military green strap, I decided to buy a two toned gold and silver link bracelet to give the watch more pizazz. I love it!

Excellent aesthetic and the build quality is very nice. Have received quite a few compliments on it. Movement is beautiful

ساعة جميلة لها ماضي مميز، تقتنيها لتاريخها وتقنيتها لكن لو اردت ساعه اعتمادية فأبحث في مكان اخرو امازون اوصلتها بسرعه في علبة اصلية مع المرفقات

Relógio robusto e com um excelente cuidado no acabamento

Todo excelente, envío, precio y calidad

Had this watch for six weeks now and kept it constantly running in order to settle the movement in so as I have a basic idea how its performing. There are many factors which determine how a mechanical watch runs some of which are.... Spring tension, Temperature, Rest position, Time on wrist, just to name just a few ! If you're expecting quartz accuracy I doubt you will get it from a mechanical watch in this price range so please be aware of that. Saying that my watch is not that bad, on a full wind I'm getting approx 50hrs of run time ( without using chrono function) with an accuracy of about +4 seconds a day when on the wrist for 8hrs and rest position (off the wrist) of dial up during the night. Don't forget that this watch is NOT an automatic so you have to manually wind it basically every day to keep a reasonable amount of tension in the main spring ! As for the appearance of the watch they have upgraded it to mineral glass and added a second row of lettering at 6 o'clock which translates to "Tianjin Watch Works". The movement is basically the old Swiss "Venus175" which has been basically unchanged from the 1950's but is now called the ST-1901 and apparently is still made using the original machines and tooling ? and now has 22 Juan ( 22 jewels ) but this is still open to debate ? Trying to find out what is an original "Tianjin" watch is a bit of a minefield, as there are many licenced copies of this watch i.e. "Sugess" also how the name is spelt, "Sea-Gull" is the official spelling and "Seagull" is on the copy watches so far as I can find out, but I may be totally wrong ? Overall if want an Iconic watch at ridiculously low price then this watch is must have to any watch collection !

This feels like a piece of history. A lovely sized watch with legible timekeeping, mechanical chrono function, and a surprising and beautiful exhibition back.